


tones

by worstgirl



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, I dunno if that triggers anyone or not, M/M, christine’s also a synesthete, deere, he also plays piano, i don’t have synesthesia but i think it’s super cool and research it a bunch, jake’s a dumbass, jeremy has synesthesia, jerm has chromesthesia and christine has auditory-tactile, mentions of sensory overload, this is just meaningless fluff i dunno, this is just my headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 14:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20529572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worstgirl/pseuds/worstgirl
Summary: jeremy has synesthesia, and jake asks him to play piano for himthat’s it that’s the story





	tones

The attic was a little dusty, but Jake didn’t seem to mind. He sat on a milk crate turned over with an old deck chair cushion stuck on top of it, looking all cute and perfect and shiny in the middle of the dirty, cluttered space. But in the middle, through a little alleyway through the boxes of random shit, was Jeremy’s little safe space. 

It had something that resembled walls, just piled boxes a few feet high to block the view of anyone who walked upstairs, a beaten up couch cushion missing a cover in some parts, and an old, battered keyboard attached to an extension cord. In the corner were a pile of old notebooks with songs written in them, the bottom most one starting when Jeremy was nine, then slowly progressing to now, when he was eighteen. 

Jeremy ran his fingers over the keys— only white and black plastic, but they’d been worn down so much that it felt like glass. “I… I can’t promise I’m any good. I haven’t played for anyone before.” He said softly, not daring to look up at his boyfriend. 

His boyfriend. That still caught him off guard sometimes. He was dating Jake Dillinger, the cool suave football quarterback and Model UN star and three year student council member. Him. Jeremy Heere, the weird geeky loser with the deadbeat dad and the stoner best friend, whose claim to fame was the fact that he’d apparently drugged the entire cast of the school play. 

But Jake didn’t seem to mind. He shifted closer, the milk crate making a screeching noise. Red-orange, and triangular. Jeremy blinked, shaking it off. “You’re okay, Jere.” He said gently. “I’m not asking you to be a Mozilla or anything.” 

Jeremy had to stop a smile. For all Jake’s book smarts, and knowledge of the social hierarchy, he still got the most endearing things wrong. “Mozart, Jakey.” He teased, nudging Jake’s foot with his. Jake laughed, either at the nickname or the correction. Jeremy didn’t know, but he loved that laugh. Dark green, and a bit like bubbles. It was so cute. 

“Gesundheit.” Jake shrugged, before sidling up to Jeremy even more. The lengths of their legs pressed together, and Jeremy felt his face go pink. He looked down at the keys, before pressing one, a clear blue note coming out. It wasn’t as good as a real piano, but it worked. The colours were muted, like they didn’t want to be there.

Jeremy took a deep breath, before he started to play. It was soft at first, the notes spaced out enough to be seen as the individual colours, before he gained confidence. The colours all blended, cobalt and cerulean, maroon and mahogany, ochre and amber. It got to the point where Jeremy’s eyes were fixed on the colours seemingly falling from his fingers, the violet colour he loved the most dripping almost down his knuckles. He let himself get swept away in the music, like waves crashing over him  _ (a smattering of orange starbursts as he played a higher note)  _ almost forgetting the fact that Jake was even there,  _ (a vibrant puce colour, as if the note decided it didn’t belong without Jeremy even asking)  _ except the warmth of his leg and the evenness of his breath  _ (low blues blended in, slithering like snakes)  _ against his ear. 

Finally, he pulled back, the colours slipping away and the notes slowing, before he hit one final chord, the beautiful, perfect crimson of an F minor seeming to explode in a tiny snow flurry from his fingertips. 

Jeremy closed his eyes for a moment. It took a moment for him to be able to open his eyes, looking over at Jake, who looked at him with an odd expression on his face. Jeremy’s cheeks went red, and he pulled his hands away from the keys to grip the legs of his jeans. 

“That was- beautiful. You’re saying you don’t think you’re any good? Dude, I have no clue how you don’t think you’re good, that was amazing.” Jake said, sounding so genuinely excited that Jeremy only felt his face flush more. “Like, holy shit, that was the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

Jeremy hid his face in his hands, his face flushed so dark red he felt like he’d catch on fire if he got any more embarrassed. “It- it isn’t that good, it’s just— it’s just that all the colours make sense together, y’know?”

Jake blinked, looking at him. “Is that, like, a weird word for notes or—“

Oh, shit, he hadn’t meant to say that. “No! I mean— I, uh, I have this thing called, um, synesthesia.”

“Oh, me too!” Jake said happily.

Jeremy stared at him. He didn’t know the likelihood of him knowing two people with it— Christine had minor auditory-tactile synesthesia, which was nowhere near as vivid as Jeremy’s, but Jake had never mentioned it. “Wait, really? What kind?”

“I mean, I get really sick around winter, ‘cause my nose gets all stuffed up.” Jake shrugged. 

Ah. “Jake, you’re cute, but that’s your sinuses. I mean… when I hear sounds, usually music notes, I see colours. Like…” He played a note, a C sharp. “This note looks like orange triangles to me.” He swallowed, glancing over at him. “And, uh, your voice is a green, like, a dark green. But depending on your mood and how you speak, it’s sometimes different shapes.”

Jake looked even more in awe, if that was possible. “So… you’ve had this all this time and you didn’t tell me? Dude, that’s so dope.”

Jeremy gave a laugh. “I, uh. It’s not really a big deal. Sometimes I get a bit, y’know, overwhelmed because it’s kind of, like, a sensory overload. But that hasn’t happened since…”

He went quiet for a moment. Waking up in the hospital after the SQUIP, when all the colours came flooding back. The SQUIP had made it so that his senses were separated, and after it was deactivated, it came back full force. While he was thankful for it, it was still a lot all at once. 

“Never mind. The point is, uh. I don’t talk about it because it’s kind of weird? Like, Michael knows, since he’s been with me since I was a kid. He was the first one, uh, that I told. I thought it was normal. But it’s not? It’s really rare. Christine has it too, but it’s a different form. She’s got auditory-tactile, which means she feels things when she hears some noises. Like, y’know, she says she feels a pressure on her shoulder when she hears cymbals and stuff like that.” 

Jake looked at him for a moment, before reaching for the keyboard, shifting it closer to him. “Can, uh, can I ask what colour you see? This is so cool, Jere.” 

Jeremy went a bit pink, but he nodded. Jake played a D-flat. “Um, lime green, and kind of wavy. But it moves like those bad claymation movies from the 80s.” 

Jake laughed, and without even asking, Jeremy spoke up. “Your laugh’s dark green. And it’s kind of like bubbles, y’know? It’s, um, it’s cute.” He said, before coughing awkwardly. 

A kiss on his nose surprised him, and he looked up. “That’s so adorable, Jere. Have I told you you’re cute?” 

“Um, m-maybe, but you can do it again.” Jeremy gave a tiny little grin. “So… you don’t think it’s weird?” He asked hopefully, tugging on his hair. 

“Are you kidding?” Jake’s eyes lit up. “My boyfriend is so talented! Cute and talented and funny? How’d I find you?” 

“Jake, I’m not-“ Jake’s finger stopped his words in their tracks. 

“Nope. No self deprecation. We’ve talked about this.” 

Jeremy huffed, before leaning up and kissing him again. “Fine. I don’t think it’s a talent, since I didn’t, like, ask for it?” 

“Not about the colour thing, I’m talking about the piano.” Jake laughed. “I don’t know much about music, but it sounded amazing.” He kissed Jeremy’s forehead, before shifting the keyboard back over, as if asking him to play again.

Jeremy looked over at him, before he started again, playing softer this time, focusing more on the lighter, less sharp colours than the brights and darks of his previous song. By the end, Jake’s head was on his shoulder, and as the lavender and rose and sky blue wrapped around him, he let himself relax. He felt at home.

**Author's Note:**

> this has zero point but i like it?? as i said in the tags: i don’t have synesthesia but i find it super duper cool!! i did research on it, but if you’re a synesthete and i got something wrong please tell me, i’d love to learn more about it!!
> 
> also i’m deere trash so. i dunno man. it’s just fun and an excuse for me to add detail to my writing that’s poetic and doesn’t make much sense.
> 
> stay safe and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~ percy


End file.
